Teenkeeper
by Final Hikari
Summary: Back on Lemuris, the date is June 20th. Faize is assigned babysitting duty on Roak to restock supplies before they go to the Purgatorium, but will anyone remember it's Lymle's sixteenth birthday?
1. The Request

Final Hikari: Another SO:TLH fan fiction! The genre is humor; the main characters will be Faize, Lymle, Meracle, and the girl from the Black Tribe. Since her official name of Amina isn't very well known, I will go with my original nickname for her in these author's notes/disclaimers: **Faize's Girlfriend**! XD XD (Even though it should be Faize's Dead Girlfriend, you get the idea. XD)

Friendly Tribeswoman: …

Final Hikari: As I was saying, this will be a short story set during the TLH timeline.

Friendly Tribeswoman (Faize's Girlfriend from here on out, _because I can_): …But of all the nicknames, why _that?_

Final Hikari: Well, I know the Japanese fans have been calling you "Amina" but that sounds like…well…Ameena. XD Anyway! I'm holding out until Star Ocean: The Last Hope -International- to give you a large roll in my fan fictions.

Faize's Girlfriend: Some of the readers have no idea what you're talking about though…

Final Hikari: :D Google it, SO fans! -enthusiastic nod- Right now! It's already on sale!

Faize's Girlfriend: The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

Final Hikari: But I _do_ own a copy of TLH International! -evil laugh- It'll be the first good RPG on the PS3! Huzzah!

Teenkeeper

Chapter I

The Request

The morning sunlight filtered in through the heavy drapes covering the window. A warm breeze blew in from the open window on the far side of the room, gently rustling the pages of an open book that had been left on the nightstand between the two beds. A faint scent of salt was carried in the breeze, undoubtedly originating from the ocean beyond the city's boundaries.

Lymle Lemuri Phi stared at the floor, expression slightly forlorn, ad Reimi Saionji finished adjusting her pigtails. The older girl smiled at her brightly, though she was secretly glad not to have to worry about babysitting that day. Instead, one of the most sensible and responsible member of their group, although possibly the least patient with children, would be given the cumbersome duty of looking after Lymle and Meracle for the day.

Meracle was notably intrigued by the abundance of people who were part of her race. Additionally, since she remembered next to nothing of her past, to her, it felt like her first time visiting the city. The subsequent effect was that she needed to be watched constantly, else she'd wander off and find herself in an incredible amount of trouble.

Unbeknownst to this plan for the day, Lymle thanked and said goodbye to Reimi, off to go see the victim babysitter himself; though she had no idea she'd be stuck with him for the entire day. If she had known further in advance, she would have planned and arranged an entire gauntlet of pranks to torment the poor Eldarian.

Reimi's smile faded as the door swung closed behind the young girl. She sat down in the chair, grimacing slightly as she moved her right leg. Though her left leg was succumbing to the disease as well, its progression on her right was far worse. Despite having slept relatively well, she was tired; she doubted she would have been able to join the group hunting for bunnies in the forest if they had decided to depart immediately. The plan was to go the following day, venturing into the forest with renewed energy and supplies.

_Though…I'm not going to be of use to anyone at this rate…_

* * *

The inn in Tatroi was lavishly decorated, and even out in the hallways and staircase, the walls were adorned with elegant, framed paintings of people or landscapes. She walked down the stairs, shoes clicking against the hard polished wooden surface as she did. She was warm in her dress, since the temperature on Roak was quite a bit hotter than what she was used to on Lemuris.

She stopped on the last step and peered around the room, gaze falling to the row of doors that lead to the first floor's rooms. The _extremely_ elderly receptionist, "self proclaimed master hostess Catherine" seemed to be bothering some misfortunate young man who was trying to book a room.

The previous day, she had addressed Edge with names like "honey" and "sweet stuff," much to his horror and Reimi's irritation. It had turned it had turned into quite a mess, for after some less than child-friendly suggestions, Reimi canceled the reservation and dragged them all out.

A few hours later, they'd sent Faize in to book the rooms. But when she saw him, she simply squinted and asked if he ever ate anything, since he was "skinnier (and prettier) than the average teenage girl." Though disturbed by the comments, they weren't enough to shatter his unusually cheerful mood from meeting the young woman from the Black Tribe.

The group had decided to spend the night in Tatroi before going off into the forest to hunt for the "bunnies" required to cross the desert. It had been Reimi's suggestion, as she looked very tired. However, she answered in the negative when asked if something was wrong. Thus, it was still early in the morning when the prelude to a chaotic day began.

She walked over to the door to the room Faize and Bacchus were given, struggling to reach the unusually high doorknob. The thought of knocking never once crossed her mind. She leaned upon her tiptoes to turn the knob and push the door open, without even having the consideration to announce her presence.

As soon as the old wooden door creaked open, Faize glanced up to see who had suddenly entered. He was seated at the desk with the holographic screens of his portable computer on display, but his expression was unsurprised when he saw the small Lemurisian coming inside.

"Lymle, you're supposed to knock on the door before entering," he said, his tone patient as ever.

"Do you have calendars for other planets?" she asked, pointing at his computer as she left the door drift closed behind her. She didn't greet him, never mind acknowledge his comment. "I wanna know what day back home, 'kay?"

"Why?" he asked, sounding just a bit suspicious about her question.

"It's been a long time and I wanna know, 'kay?" she persisted as she walked over to him and peered over the edge of the desk, struggling to see what was displayed on the screen. "It's kinda hard to keep track of."

"Unless a person is aware of the different daily and annual rotation cycles a habitable planet undergoes in comparison to another, it's borderline impossible to know the specific date of a planet light years away," he explained as he opened the files shared with the Calnus' database that kept record of Lemuris' seasons, days, weather patterns, and similar facts.

"Can you do it or not?" she questioned, her expression and tone enigmatic.

"Of course, but it will take a few minutes to make the correct calculations."

She watched as his agile fingers sped across the keys. Numbers, odd mathematic symbols, and equations appeared on the screen; a small picture of Lemuris, taken from space, was shown on the upper corner of the screen. She waited patiently and remained at his side as he finished making the calculations. He lifted the small device off the desk, causing the keyboard to disappear, and held it out to show her.

"It's the twentieth day of the sixth month of the year on Lemuris. It was midnight roughly thirty-four minutes ago; the twenty eight hour day has over twenty-seven hours left and will end shortly before this day on Roak."

She stared at the text as she listened, her expression betraying the shadow of disappointment. "I thought so…," she trailed off, tone unhappy.

"Is it some sort of holiday there?" he asked, though more automatically rather than interestedly as he returned to the translation program he'd been doing before she interrupted his work.

"No…nothing big like that, 'kay?" she said, for some odd reason, thinking he'd ask something else.

He didn't; he appeared to be far more concerned with the archaic dialect displayed on the screen and translation of it he was attempting to make. Several smaller screens appeared around the main one with facts about how he was decoding the words. Before she could ask what it was, the sound of a knock on the door pierced the silence.

"It's Reimi, can I come in?" she inquired politely from the hallway.

"'Kay," Lymle called back.

Faize just shook his head, deciding not to tell her it was the occupant of the room who was supposed to give the response. She wouldn't listen either way. Reimi pushed the door open, her expression cheerful. He only distantly noticed she remained leaning against the door, almost as though for support, as she greeted them.

"Hello! I thought you two might be together."

"Good morning," he replied politely as Lymle simply waved. "Is there something going on?"

Reimi returned the small girl's wave then nodded, her ponytail and ribbon bouncing with the movement. "Do you think you could take care of the shopping today, Faize? We have to restock on supplies in the Tatroi stores before we move on."

"Certainly," he agreed. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"Do you mind taking Meracle and Lymle with you?" she asked sweetly, disguising the true request as a technicality.

But it was quite obvious what she was _really_ asking; as soon as she mentioned the children's names, he realized what his _real_ duty was. With a slight frown, he nodded in response. Lymle glanced between them, not quite getting what was going on.

"All right," he said, doubting he really had a choice in the matter.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed brightly. "Meracle has the shopping list. I believe she's still in the dining room eating breakfast."

"I suppose you want me to leave immediately?" he questioned, closing all the screens on his computer by pressing one button.

"You can take your time, but there are a lot of stores to visit, so you probably want to leave sooner than later."

"Right."

And so Faize Sheifa Beleth, known as a young genius engineer on Eldar, was stuck as the babysitter on Roak. To add to the situation, both of the 'children' he had to look after were technically both teenagers. He didn't want to know what that would make him. However, there was still one fact that was certain.

It was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

Final Hikari: Well, there you go. XD Faize is stuck as the babysitter…or rather, the Teenkeeper! :D Thanks and credit goes to **MAY4** for helping with the title! -gives cookies to MAY- I really appreciate the help, my editor and I love the title! :D

Faize: -blank stare- …'Thinner (and prettier) than the average teenage girl'? -.- Why I get the feeling you have all sorts of evil planned…?

Final Hikari: Because this is the third fan fiction you've suffered through with me. :D Also, just to clarify the timeline, this is set after the group saves Sarah from the kidnappers in Tatroi and meet the Black Tribe; but before Reimi's collapse, as you probably guessed. Seeing as several months pass in TLH's timeline, it seems pretty likely there's plenty of layover time…

Lymle: You're using lots of very American words and phrases, 'kay?

Final Hikari: It's the sleep deprivation returning my vocabulary to factory defaults. Ignore it. XD -turns to readers- Thanks for reading and please review! I'll be updating every two weeks, and getting back on schedule with my other TLH fan fictions, Utopia and Aroma of Love.


	2. The Departure

Final Hikari: This chapter has been sitting half done on my hard drive since April 10th, and it's been sitting in my notebook since last October. Time to get going, eh? Anyway! The new art options in TLH International are quite awesome; you can stick with the normal CG ones (which I actually prefer) or switch to the anime style ones. It's fun to switch since the anime faces are very different. :D

Faize's Girlfriend: Any other announcements today?

Final Hikari: I had to proofread myself. D: Sorry if it sucks.

Faize's Girlfriend: …The Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Star Ocean: The Last Hope…

Final Hikari: Only the completely ridiculous nickname 'Faize's Girlfriend' for the 'Friendly Tribeswoman.' XD Meracle makes her first appearance in this chapter. And unfortunately, I also own my forgetfulness. I couldn't recall the names of the stores mentioned in this chapter and mere wrote 'OhnoesIforgot' in my notebook instead. XDDD …And since I lack time to play TLH, they are now nameless in this version which you read. :p

Teenkeeper

Chapter II

The Departure

Faize Sheifa Beleth, with Lymle Lemuri Phi in tow, walked down the hallway toward the dining room where Meracle was undoubtedly still gorging on breakfast buffet the inn provided to customers. Though it opened well over two hours ago, it wouldn't be odd for the Lesser Fellpool to _still_ be eating.

"I wanna know what you were working on earlier, 'kay?" Lymle said, looking up at him expectantly.

"I was trying to decode the language spoken by the head of the Black Tribe," he replied simply. "It's a very archaic dialect, but there are still some words that are reminiscent of to their currents forms in the modern languages of Roak."

_I should have known…_

"Why?" Lymle frowned slightly, but he didn't notice the almost indiscernible change in her expression. "Because that girl could speak it?"

"Well, it's very old but clearly not lost since it has been carried on by her generation. It might be beneficial to know someday."

Her expression only darkened more at his explanation, inwardly remembering the girl's invitation. The fact that Faize actually said he would consider it was what made the encounter most disturbing. She had seemed like a nice girl, and Lymle probably would have gotten along with her if she wasn't so overly nice to Faize.

_ She can't be very smart if she likes a dummy like Faize…_

"It sounded really weird, 'kay?"

"Well, most outdated dialects sound very nonstandard in comparison to what we're used to speaking. However, it's still possible to trace definition roots back to their origins in ancient languages. That is currently what I'm basing my study off of, though I would like to find some books that have more text or dialogue for me to work with."

"Mmm."

Faize turned the knob and pushed the door that lead into the dinning room open. As predicted, sitting in front of a full plate, was Meracle. She ate like a cat with an odd turn of evolution would; with her hands, making a rather large mess of crumbs on the table before her. Since there weren't any types of fish at the breakfast buffet, she had all sweet things piled up on her plate.

Meracle's ears flicked, announcing she'd heard them before she looked up. She waved enthusiastically, fingers covered in a sugary glaze from the cinnamon buns she was wolfing down, one after another. Only a few other customers wondered the room, but they were all keeping several feet away from the ravenous feline.

"Good morning!" Meracle greeted, words muffled through the food in her mouth.

"Morning, Merry! We're going shopping, 'kay? It's time to go," she added, causing a frown to suddenly come over the other girl's face. "Breakfast should be over by now, 'kay?"

Meracle's shoulders fell. "But they said they'd keep serving as long as at least one customer was still eating."

_I can't believe I have to babysit someone only two years my junior… I know they want to keep her away from the rabbits and that Featherfolk, Sarah Jerand, but a sixteen-year old should __**not**__ need a babysitter… I was already graduated from the education system and overseeing the first mass production of Sol units by that age…_

Finally, with a bit more persuasion and still with a cinnamon bun in each hand, Meracle stood up to dust the crumbs off her body and left the now half empty plate behind. She trudged over to where Faize waited, ears slightly down turned as she regarding him darkly while chewing a bun.

"Which stores are we going to?" she questioned, a bit suspiciously.

"The majority of them, we have to purchase a lot of supplies before securing our transportation and departing for the Purgatorium," he explained, talking as though he was speaking the smallest and most clueless of children. He didn't seem to notice his own tone.

Unfortunately, Meracle heard it and didn't appreciate his tone. "Doesn't _Edge_ usually handle the shopping? He's the leader, after all," Meracle complained stubbornly, sounding displeased on numerous levels to be going with Faize.

"Yes, but I was requested to take care of it today."

"Edge always buys me a treat when I go to the stores with him."

"We don't have enough of this kingdom's currency to waste on frivolous items," he replied. "Perhaps when we reach Tropp, but not today."

Oddly, though not a direct part of the conversation, Lymle was the one whose gaze fell to the floor in disappointment.

Meracle sighed elaborately as she popped her second to last cinnamon bun into her mouth. "When's Edge going to be back to normal? It's so boring when he's acting like this…and he's making me worry…"

_Why on Eldar is she asking me this like I would know…?_ He wondered tiredly. "I'm sure things will be back to normal soon," he replied, deciding not to get technical with her on anything.

He glanced down when he felt a small hand tug on he hem of his cloak. Lymle met his gaze enigmatically, a hint of anticipation reflected in her amber eyes. "I wanna know where we're going first, 'kay?"

"Ah…we have to go to that shady salesman with the stand near the entrance of town to get the supplies Welch requested for item creation"

"Like symbol paint? There's a really nice set at one of those stores, 'kay?"

"Well...," he trailed off, doubting anything more than one or two tubes was on the list.

_ They must do this to Edge all the time…since he certainly couldn't say no to this act, he must spoil them every shopping trip…_ he realized, instantly losing any faint degree of compassion an innocent stare and expectant request left him with. _No wonder we never have enough money for everything…_

"It depends on the cost and how much Welch recommended we purchase. If the price is comparable and it's in our budget it could be considered," he said dismissively.

"Budget," Meracle echoed with a shudder. "Edge never used that word."

"Please?" I won't ask for anything else, 'kay?" Lymle persisted, not giving up.

"Maybe," he retorted, sounding equally stubborn.

"Maybe means 'no,'" she pouted, releasing his cloak.

"The definition of the word 'maybe' means either outcome has a close to comparable chance of outcome. Not-" he explained, before getting interrupted.

Meracle breezed past him, the fur on her tail still fluffed out indignantly. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently in the doorway.

"Are we going yet?" she demanded.

"Do you have the shopping list Reimi gave you?" he asked, unfazed by her attitude.

"…What list?"

Final Hikari: What a crappy little chapter… -falls asleep atop English homework-

Faize: …

Lymle: -pokes the author with wand gently-

Faize: -.- That's rude, don't randomly start poking people.

Lymle: But she's fast asleep, kay? -pokes again-

Final Hikari: -unconscious-

Faize: …Your point?

Lymle: Let's play a trick on her, 'kay?

Faize: That is immature and accomplishes nothing.

Lymle: But it'll be fun, 'kay? -looks around room for something suitable-

Faize: …Just what are you plotting?

Lymle: You'll see, 'kay?


End file.
